EA

A vulnerability in EA's Origin online gaming platform could allow remote hackers to run dangerous code on gamers' computers without permission, by perverting links used to load titles like Crysis 3, its been revealed. Identified by ReVuln researchers Luigi Auriemma and Donato Ferrante, and presented last week at the Black Hat security conference, the exploit relies on the URI links the Origin desktop client uses to trigger local software from the cloud, and which can be modified to install malware instead.

In what may seem like a surprising move (or maybe not, considering the circumstances), Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello will be stepping down from the big wig position, as well as giving up his position as a member of the Board of Directors. The resignation will go into effect March 30, and Larry Probst will assume acting CEO until the company finds a replacement.

Earlier this month, Electronic Arts announced that it would be providing those affected by the SimCity server issues a free video game of their choice based on a short list of games that the publisher would release later on. Today, EA has listed the games that SimCity owners can grab for free, but choose wisely, since you can only pick one.

When Real Racing 3 launched last month, it took a bit of heat over its new freemium model that Electronic Arts implemented for the first time in the game's series. While you can get the game for free this time around, you could end up paying a ton of money for in-game upgrades and faster repairs. However, that doesn't seem to be stopping most gamers.

After the disastrous launch of SimCity last week, Electronic Arts and Maxis moved quickly to try and get the game back up and running after servers crashed due to overwhelming demand. This led to download failures for many gamers, and some pre-orderers weren't even able to get access to the download at launch. However, EA has announced that they've finished upgrading to the newer and faster servers.

EA's SimCity launched with disastrous results. EA wanted to prevent piracy of the game, so they added the Always-On DRM feature that would require players to login to its online servers in order to play their game. While the Always-On DRM feature is good for protecting against piracy, it resulted in an unmitigated login disaster for SimCity. Many gamers were unable to login, downloads were severely slow, people weren't able to unlock their games, and many were unable to enjoy a game they've anticipated for so long.

You know things are really bad when Electronic Arts is actively suspending all of its marketing efforts on SimCity. The publisher has sent an email to its marketing affiliate partners asking them to "please stop actively promoting the game" until further notice. Specifically, EA's Origin says they have "deactivated all SimCity text links and creative," and they're asking affiliates to remove all promotional material from their websites.

The SimCity launch earlier this week didn't quite go as planned, as Electronic Arts experienced problems across the board, mostly due to servers crashing. Many gamers experienced download failures and weren't able to play the game on launch day. Because of the outcry, a team of game developers is looking to make a SimCity clone, called Civitas, but they need your help to fund the project.

If you haven't discovered yet, SimCity's launch on Tuesday didn't really go as planned, as the overwhelming demand from customers has been wreaking havoc on Electronic Arts's servers, and while the company expected the issues to be resolved by the end of the launch day, many gamers are still experiencing problems. Because of the ongoing server issues, Amazon has suspended digital download orders of the game.

In late February, EA chief financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said that EA would be using micro-transactions for all of its PC and console games in the future. That statement polarized many gamers who came out and condemned EA for leaning on micro-transactions. The problem many gamers have with micro-transactions is a fear that games will push players into micro-transactions to be able to play effectively.